Language-rich Europe : Key findings and discussion

In spite of the challenges involved in the comparison of policies and practices for multi/plurilingualism in different national or regional contexts, the comparative data presented in this study provide a rich source of cross-national insights.1 Leaving aside the degree of recognition of multi/plurilingualism, there are multi/plurilingual policies and practices in all 24 countries/regions surveyed, with many EU and CoE recommendations being followed. On the basis of both the comparative cross-national findings presented here, and the contextual detail provided by our researchers in the country profiles, we hope that policy-makers, practitioners and specialists working in the field will be able to identify good practice, which can subsequently serve as a basis for development and knowledge exchange. Below, we summarise the key findings for each of the language domains surveyed.Languages in official documents and databasesLegislation on national and R/M languages is provided in almost all countries/ regions, on foreign languages in 14 countries/regions, and on immigrant languages in only six countries/regions.Official language policy documents on the promotion of national and foreign languages are available in almost all countries/regions, on R/M languages in 18 countries/regions and on immigrant languages in only four countries/regions.The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML) has been ratified by Parliament in 11 out of the 18 countries surveyed, and signed by governments in France and Italy. It has been neither signed nor ratified by Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Lithuania and Portugal.The largest numbers of officially offered R/M languages in education emerge in South-Eastern and Central European countries. In Western Europe, Italy and France are the clearest exceptions to this general rule, as they offer a wide variety of languages. The concepts of "regional" or "minority" languages are not specified in the ECRML but immigrant languages are explicitly excluded from it. In Western European countries, immigrant languages often have a more prominent appearance than R/M languages but enjoy less recognition, protection and/or promotion.Most countries/regions are familiar with official language data collection mechanisms and most of them address three types of languages: national languages, R/M languages and immigrant languages. Only four out of 24 countries/regions have no language data mechanisms at all: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, Greece and the Netherlands. Portugal only collects data on the national language.There is also variation in the major language question(s) asked in official nation/region-wide language data collection mechanisms. Over half of the countries/regions surveyed ask a home-language question, while others ask about the main language and/or the mother tongue.Languages in pre-primary educationMany EU and CoE documents underline the importance of early language learning. At pre-primary level, 14 of the 24 countries/regions surveyed provide additional support in the national language for all children funded by the state. The Netherlands and Ukraine devote the most time to this.Foreign-language provision at this level is offered by nine countries/regions: Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Basque Country, Bulgaria, Catalonia, Estonia, Spain and Ukraine, although it may be partly or fully funded by parents/ guardians. English, French and German are the most common languages offered.R/M languages are offered by 17 countries/regions, and are mainly funded by the state/region. In some countries there are minimum group size requirements to form a group. The widest variety of languages is offered in Austria, Hungary, Italy, Romania and Ukraine.Provision in immigrant languages in pre-primary education is not yet very common. However, in spite of the difficulties involved in identifying appropriate teachers and learning materials, three countries (Denmark, Spain and Switzerland) do offer support to very young children for the maintenance and development of their languages and cultures of origin. …